FA Cup: Liverpool Look to Keep Quadruple Bid Alive Against Norwich

Liverpool vs Norwich City

After claiming the Carabao Cup in dramatic fashion, Liverpool will look to keep their quest for the quadruple alive as they host struggling Norwich City in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Jurgen Klopp is expected to ring in the changes to his Reds side after their physically and mentally draining Carabao Cup final, which went to extra time and penalties.

Nevertheless, the FA Cup 2022 betting odds will have them favoured to overcome Norwich, who are back in the bottom of the Premier League after a trio of losses and could be set to sit some key players themselves.

Talking Points

Liverpool likely to rest stars after cup success

Liverpool are Carabao Cup champions once again after a dramatic penalty shoot-out win over Chelsea. It was a hard-fought victory for the Reds as many of their star players (Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson) played the entire 120 minutes plus penalties.

Those stars will likely get a much-deserved rest in their midweek cup tie, with Jurgen Klopp expected to rotate his side significantly.

Although, goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher should keep his place as he usually gets the start in domestic cup competitions.

Meanwhile, squad players like Ibrahima Konate, Kostas Tsimikas, Naby Keita, and Takumi Minamino should expect to start once again, as they did in the previous round against Cardiff. The second-string Reds still breezed by the Bluebirds 3-1 thanks to goals from Diogo Jota, Minamino, and teenager Harvey Elliott.

Minamino, who scored four goals in their successful Carabao Cup run, has been the Reds’ cup specialist this season. Five of his seven goals this season have been in domestic cup competitions, and he will be keen to provide some FA Cup 2022 highlights.

Roberto Firmino and Thiago Alcantara will both miss out due to injury, but with the addition of Luis Diaz and the return of Elliott from injury, Liverpool have sufficient depth and quality in the attacking and midfield positions.

Norwich struggling yet again

Norwich are in trouble again. After a recent winning run raised their hopes of avoiding relegation, they are back in the bottom of the Premier League after three straight losses.

Granted, two of those losses came against the top two teams, Manchester City and Liverpool. But they also lost quite convincingly to Southampton, who absolutely crushed them with 27 shots, nine of which were on target.

Norwich have done well to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup. They beat Charlton as well as Wolves 1-0 away to reach this point.

But with Premier League survival clearly the priority, Norwich coach Dean Smith is likely to field a second-string side to prepare for a winnable game on the weekend at home to struggling Brentford.

That likely means top scorer Teemu Pukki (6 goals) will be rested again. The Finnish forward also did not start in the previous two rounds of the FA Cup.

The Canaries don’t have another consistent goalscorer behind Pukki, though, which has been a major factor in their struggles. Young American Josh Sargent – the team’s second-leading scorer with 2 Premier League goals – is the main candidate to lead the Norwich attack in place of Pukki.

History

Liverpool absolutely love playing Norwich. They have won each of their last six meetings, scoring three or more goals in five of those six games.

Three of those matches have come this season. Liverpool won 3-0 twice at Norwich, one in the Premier League and the other in the Carabao Cup. Takumi Minamino bagged a brace in that cup win.

Liverpool then won 3-1 at Anfield just a couple weeks ago. Milot Rashica gave the Canaries a shock lead, but the Reds came roaring back with goals from Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, and Luis Diaz.

Liverpool don’t have a particularly great record in the FA Cup under Klopp, though. The Reds have exited the competition in the fifth round or earlier in the first six seasons the German has been in charge.

Betting Tip

Unsurprisingly, SBOTOP odds have Liverpool pegged as overwhelming 1.19 favourites to go through even though they are likely to field a second-string side. Norwich are priced at 10.00, while a draw is at 6.20.

Even with their star strikers and other key players unlikely to play, Liverpool should still have too much for Norwich, who may not go full bore to make it to the quarter-finals with their relegation battle much higher on their list of priorities.

With the big attacking stars on both sides missing, this FA Cup tie is unlikely to be another high-scoring affair like in their previous meetings this season. So go ahead and take the under on goals scored at Anfield.

 

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